The Ridiculous Yankee Catcher Saga Continues

I am just sick of it. Sick of Gary Sanchez. Sick of mediocre. Sick of the Yankees investing in a catcher that simply will not get better; at least not here in the Bronx. So as the saga of Yankee catching continues the Yankees made another bonehead move, that makes me think that they are just okay with keeping things the way they are—having an exposed weakness, Achilles Heel, behind the dish.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees signed 32-year-old veteran catcher Rob Brantly to a minor league deal. Brantly will likely start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre come this spring. He offers a lefty bat which could provide some diversity to a prominently righty lineup. 

“Brantly has played in nine different organizations in the minors. He’s also played in parts of seven seasons in the majors, hitting .224 over 134 games. He played six games in the bigs with the Yankees last year,” reported NJ.com. 

Are the Yankees serious? I realize there are not a lot of catchers in this year’s free agency class or up for grabs if you will but I have written about a potential Yankees-Cubs trade, enabling Wilson Contreras to come to the Bronx in 2022. But on Tuesday, the Cubs tendered Contreras, which could keep him from the Yankees. Too little too late seems to be the mantra for the Yankees this off season. 

According to The Athletic on Friday, “They don’t have another starting option right now, they likely feel there is value for him on the market (he seems like a great change-of-scenery candidate), and there’s a lot of uncertainty about player movement post-lockout in general.”

That is a good explanation but not one I was hoping for. But what value does Brantly bring to act as a transition for the Yankees as more catching becomes available? 

“While Brantly swings a light bat, the Yankees like that he’s a solid pitch framer and overall defender. He’s also considered good in the clubhouse. He hit .289 with nine homers and 43 RBI in 68 games at Triple-A last year for the Yankees. The Yankees carried Brantly on the taxi squad for their AL Wild-Card loss to the Red Sox,” reported NJ.com.

The Yankee saga behind the plate continues. One glimmer of hope is that they are at least prioritizing defense in considering Brantly. I guess I just wish they would go after someone great instead of good, if I could call Brantly that. Everyone deserves a chance I suppose, but Sanchez has had more live than a cat. Time to phase him out and maybe the Brantly move accelerates that journey.

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof